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Product Description

Molly Shannon plays Peggy, a happy-go-lucky secretary who is a great friend, employee, and sister living alone with her beloved dog Pencil. But when Pencil unexpectedly dies, Peggy must find meaning in her life. John C. Reilly, Peter Sarsgaard, Regina King and Laura Dern turn in great comic performances as the significant people in Peggy's life who give her ill-fitting advice.

Most helpful customer reviews

I loved this movie. It's funny in an unusual and offbeat way, but it is also kind-hearted and sweet at the same time. It tells the story of Peggy (Molly Shannon), a shy, lonely woman who has in the past been hurt by the people around her. She shares a close bond with her dog, Pencil. Pencil dies early on, and the rest of the film follows Peggy on her journey through grief. The film's strongest point is that it successfully depicts Peggy with dignity. Her genuine love for animals--instead of being a weakness--is actually what helps her become a courageous and strong person. While in another writer-director's hands Peggy might have been the butt of patronizing jokes, or dismissed as weird and unhealthy, Mike White manages to turn Peggy into a beautiful person with a lot of love to give. That love may be unconventional, but it is no less life-affirming.

Even the unlikeable characters in this are likeable - a hallmark of good writing in the lighter vein. Great movie for people who like dogs and other animals and/or people who go their own way. Thoughtful, and makes you feel good without feeling like you wasted 1 1/2 hours of your time.

In order to do a successful film you need to fine and follow a good direction and that's where I thought I was heading until it took a turn without me. "Year of the Dog" opens on a field of frolicking puppies, then shows the dogs' humans circling the activity. Most of the humans are chatting among themselves, but Peggy (Molly Shannon) has eyes only for her beloved, adorable beagle Pencil. Peggy holds a generic job in a sterile office. She comforts her pedestrian boss as he suffers the slights of banal office politics. She's a sounding board for her workplace best friend. She baby-sits her brother's children and takes well-meaning advice from him and his wife. She's there for everyone, and Pencil is there for her: Pencil is her emotional core. When Pencil dies, Peggy's grief is overwhelming, leading to breakdown and collapse. She works through the void made visible by Pencil's death to eventually achieve a resolution to her personal crisis and a new direction for her life.

While the movie purports to show a "journey of personal transformation," as expressed in the press blurbs, it instead shows mental breakdown and tenuous recovery. Shannon's performance as Peggy. It's a far cry from the underarm-sniffing school girl of her Saturday Night Live past. Shannon, who has had wonderful turns with roles in Marie Antoinette and a short-lived Mike White sitcom, turns Peggy into a character with whom we easily empathize. Even her slip into the shallow waters of insanity seems forgivable when it occurs with such restraint and care.

White's writing, more than Shannon, makes it easy to understand Peggy. As he tells this story, Peggy is surrounded by people whose own blind love makes them do or believe things that even the always-supportive Peggy sees as peculiar.Read more ›